It was a poignant occasion that bridged 32 years of royal history – and it brought Prince George closer to the grandmother he never had the chance to meet.
At The Passage homelessness charity, George, 12, followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana and his father Prince William after their first visit in 1993.
George, who helped prepare Christmas lunch at the charity’s St Vincent’s centre in London last week, was ‘fascinated’ to see a visitors’ book which recorded the signatures of Diana, four years before she died, and an 11-year-old William.
George’s reaction to seeing his grandmother’s name in the book was said to be a breathless, ‘Wow’.
And that historic page now bears George’s own name, written underneath to commemorate his visit a generation later.
Mick Clarke, the charity’s chief executive, said the visit was a ‘proud-dad moment’ for William, who has a long-standing involvement with the charity and became its patron in 2019.
Mr Clarke said: ‘We looked at the page that I had from William’s first visit with his mum… And there was a gap underneath it. And so we’d asked William, ‘Do you think George would like to sign this?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, that would be great’.’ Mr Clarke said William told George: ‘That’s my mum. And this was the very first day that she took me to The Passage.’
‘It was a lovely moment in terms of almost coming full-circle from 1993 to the end of 2025,’ Mr Clarke added. ‘And it felt a bit like a proud-dad moment, I thought, which was really, really lovely to see.’
The Prince of Wales and Prince George in the kitchen of The Passage with Head Chef Claudette (front, left) and CEO of The Passage Mick Clarke (far right)
George was ‘fascinated’ to see a visitors’ book which contained the signatures of his grandmother Diana and an 11-year-old William
George got ‘stuck in’ at the shelter as he helped to cook a Christmas meal for homeless people
George got ‘stuck in’ as he helped to cook a Christmas meal for homeless people.
He also helped volunteers to create care packages, which were later distributed to those unable to attend the lunch. The young prince then helped decorate a tree which had been donated to the charity from Westminster Abbey following his mother Catherine’s annual carol service earlier this month.
William was reunited with the charity’s head chef Claudette Dawkins, who has featured in a documentary with the prince.
Mr Clarke said there was ‘lots of banter’ as William prepared the sprouts, while George helped with the Yorkshire puddings.
‘It just shows how relaxed William is,’ he added. ‘But it also shows how relaxed George was. He clearly felt very comfortable and really enjoyed getting involved.’
